Local car-makers await Autodom outcome today

LOCAL car-makers are assessing their immediate options as they await a resolution on stricken automotive components manufacturer Autodom, which was last week placed into administration after indefinitely standing down around 400 Victorian and South Australian workers.

South Australian firm Macks Advisory took control of the company’s assets on November 3, and is now assessing the financial position of all seven factories within the Autodom group, which supplies Ford, Holden and Toyota with a range of components including bumpers and brake parts.

In a statement, the administrator said it was now “commencing talks with key players in the automotive industry, the group’s secured creditors, union representatives and government to assess immediately available options”, including the fate of the company’s Australian staff.

GoAuto understands an announcement on the immediate future of local parts production – in turn affecting the state of play for the Australian facilities of both Ford and Holden – is likely to appear later today.

Among the three local car-makers, Ford is most likely to be affected and could run out of a wide range of parts by the middle of this week if production at Autodom’s aiAutomotive plant in Woodville, Adelaide, and Dair Industries factory in Dandenong, Melbourne, does not resume.

Ford Australia public affairs director Sinead Phipps told GoAuto today the company expected more information to emerge later today, and that it may be forced to close its Victorian assembly line this Wednesday (Tuesday was already a scheduled day-off for the Melbourne Cup public holiday).

“We told our employees in Broadmeadows on Friday that there was a risk that they may not be able to come to work on Wednesday,” she said. “What we asked them to do was ring in later this afternoon to find out if it is necessary for them to come into work or not.” Ms Phipps said Ford’s Geelong engine plant – which builds the I6 inline six-cylinder engine for Falcon and Territory – had sufficient parts and would definitely be open for business on Wednesday.

Similarly, Holden re-affirmed to GoAuto today that it also only has enough parts supply to keep production going at its Elizabeth plant in South Australia – where it makes the Commodore and Cruze – until around the middle of this week.

Director of external communications Craig Cheetham said more details on whether parts supply would return in time would likely emerge later today.

Toyota Australia has previously said it has sufficient stock to continue Camry and Aurion production at its Altona plant in Victoria for the immediate future, and are “reviewing our sourcing options from our existing local supplier base”.

Stay tuned for more details later today...